OUTCOME INDICATORS IN THE EARLY YEARS
REPORT OF THE EARLY YEARS FRAMEWORK DATA AND INDICATORS GROUP
BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY
1.
The Early Years Framework contributes primarily to the delivery of National
Outcome 5 – our children have the best start in life and are ready to succeed, but also to
other National Outcomes, notably National Outcome 4 (our young people are successful
learners, confident individuals, effective contributors and responsible citizens) and National
Outcome 8 (we have improved the life chances for children, young people and families at
risk).
2.
There is a commitment in the Early Years Framework (EYF) published in December
2008, for the Scottish Government and local and national partners to work in partnership to
 identify the outcomes that are crucial to all measures of success in the early years, and
 identify and define the indicators we need to measure to confirm that early years
policies are supporting progress toward these and higher level national outcomes.
3.
The EYF Data and Indicators Group (DIG) was brought together in July 2009 to take
this work forward . A full list of the members is attached at Annex A..
4.
The group used a logic modelling approach to develop an outcomes framework,
based on the getting it right for every child wellbeing principles (Safe, healthy, active,
nurtured, achieving, responsible, respected, included). The group then identified a range of
indicators that could be used to measure these outcomes.
5.
The indicators are neither mandatory nor prescriptive, and are to be seen as a tool
for Community Planning Partnerships (CPPs) to support them in measuring progress in
achieving better outcomes for children in their areas.
6.
All of the points above are expanded on in the following paragraphs.
OBJECTIVES
The main aim of the Data and Indicators Group was to identify and develop a meaningful,
manageable and robust set of indicators against which progress toward national and local
early years outcomes can be assessed.
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More specifically, its objectives were to:
Develop and refine indicators of progress that are key to early years outcomes, using the
best available evidence;
Explain, through simple narratives, what each indicator, and the set as a whole, can tell
us about progress towards outcomes at the local and national levels;
Identify gaps in the evidence/data required to support early years progress measures
and agree priorities for filling these gaps.
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8.
The indicators have the potential to be used to:
 provide a profile for Scotland of progress toward National Outcome 5 and
other closely related National Outcomes
 allow monitoring of changes and progress over time toward early years
outcomes at national and local level
 inform decision-making at local and national level for action and resource
allocation
 allow comparison between specific population groups and areas of Scotland
and potentially with other countries as far as available data allow.
9.
The work of the DIG is very much part of the implementation of the EYF and not a
stand alone exercise. The purpose of the group is to provide useful tools to help Community
Planning Partners think about, assess and report progress in achieving better outcomes for
children, families and communities in their areas. The suggested indicators are neither
mandatory nor prescriptive but might be used by CPPs in Single Outcome Agreements
(SOAs) and for performance management. They will also be helpful in developing a clearer
picture of progress at national level for strategic purposes.
10.
Important dimensions to the work include what the indicators can tell us about
progress at local and national level; contextual factors including whether the indicators tell
us directly about outcomes for children or reflect the key role of other agents in the early
years in terms of risk and protective factors (parents/carers, families, communities); and life
course factors across the early years period defined as pre-birth to eight years old
(pregnancy, birth and infancy, preschool years, early primary school years).
11.
Although the specific focus of DIG’s work is on early years outcomes and indicators,
it has been taken forward in the wider context of the Children, Young People and Social
Care (CYPSC) Data Review undertaken by Scottish Government Education Analytical
Services. The Data Review is exploring outcome and indicator options aligned with National
Outcomes for children and young people at both local and national levels. Further work to
develop and fill in gaps in data sources and indicators in the early years will be conducted as
part of the Data Review.
APPROACH
12.
The Early Years Framework is all about improving outcomes for children in later life
through transformational change and developing cohesive early years policy to achieve this.
It stresses that change will be demonstrated by the improvement in outcomes for children
rather than implementation of individual elements of the change process itself. Given this,
DIG agreed that the focus of its work would be on identifying indicators of outcomes for
children in the early years rather than process or output indicators associated with early
years services.
13.
The starting point was to agree working definitions of the key outcomes which the
EYF was intended to improve. The EYF clearly sets out the elements of transformational
change but does not provide a concise statement of the outcomes it seeks to address. In
going back to first principles, DIG used logic modelling as a tool to define outcomes for
children in the early years. This technique helps set out a shared understanding about the
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relationship between “what we do” (service interventions) and outcomes or the ‘theory of
change’ that underpins policy and practice.
14.
From the logic modelling process, DIG developed an outcomes framework. The
framework was used to identify a range of possible early years indicators drawing on
relevant data sources and indicators available locally and nationally and on evidence about
child development.
15.
From the refined list of indicators, those which can currently be monitored using
existing data and those where relatively minor ‘tweaks’ to the data itself or collection
systems would allow monitoring at local and national level were identified. For those
indicators where data is not currently available, suggestions have been made for possible
future sources. Additional data needs to support the indicators will be developed as part of
the wider Data Review and are detailed in the Indicators table associated with this report..
16.
There is a great deal of work currently ongoing in developing indicators including,
for example, a large scale project to develop mental health and well-being indicators for
children and young people which is being undertaken by NHS Health Scotland and is due to
report in 2011. In particular, DIG has contributed to the SOLACE Improving Local Indicators
Project and the Menu of Local Indicators for SOAs as well as ongoing work to coordinate
analytical support around the three major policy frameworks (EYF, Achieving our Potential
and Equally Well) in the context of the Concordat.
17.
It was not the purpose of DIG to pre-empt or duplicate this work and undertake a
technical exercise to produce another set of indicators. Rather, the intention was to ensure
that the work of DIG is complementary to other work and enhance understanding of how
outcomes can be improved for children by linking evidence, policy and practice. Throughout
this work, the expertise of DIG members has been utilised to provide signposts to relevant
work which is yet to report and which might have an impact on the evidence base for the
early years and on the most appropriate data sources and indicators in the future. This is
essentially an evolutionary process which will continue as the EYF is implemented.
DEFINING OUTCOMES FOR CHILDREN IN THE EARLY YEARS
18.
The EYF sets out a wide-ranging vision of the best start in life for children based
largely on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. However, there is no definitive
statement of outcomes for children. This vision is summed up in the eight elements of the
Wheel of Wellbeing which underpins Getting it right for every child . These elements are
Safe, Healthy, Active, Nurtured, Achieving, Responsible, Respected and Included
(SHANARRI). Getting it right for every child is seen as the delivery mechanism for the EYF and
provides a common language across all the services which support children and families.
19.
DIG used the SHANARRI themes to provide a framework for defining outcomes for
children in the early years. From the logic modelling work, it became clear that some of the
themes are more pertinent in the early years than others and could be seen as the primary
elements in the best start in life affecting the other elements in different ways. Children who
are safe, healthy, active and nurtured are more likely to be achieving and over time,
respected and responsible. The Inclusion theme underpins and is vital to all of these
elements and to positive outcomes associated with them.
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20.
The DIG produced logic models on the key themes for early years outcomes (Safe,
Healthy, Active, Nurtured, Achieving) which attempted to capture the main determinants of
outcomes in the early years. The logic models were used to develop an outcomes framework
as a basis for identifying meaningful indicators.
21.
The framework sets out short, intermediate and long term outcomes in terms of the
key themes. The short term ‘outcomes’ tend to reflect changes in inputs and processes
which will contribute to longer term outcomes. Intermediate outcomes mark the steps along
the way to achieving long term outcomes which are largely high level and aspirational. There
is no specific time scale associated with achievement of the outcomes beyond an
expectation that some impact on longer term outcomes is visible by the end of the 10 year
timeframe of the EYF. In many cases, CPPs are already making progress toward short term
and intermediate outcomes but these will vary depending on local circumstances.
22.
Another feature of the framework is that the long term outcomes are specifically
focussed on children while the intermediate outcomes tend also to apply to parents, carers
and families. The short term outcomes apply more widely still at the community level. This
reflects the fact that outcomes for children in the earliest years are heavily dependent on
the behaviour and circumstances of other agents including parents, carers, other family
members, teachers, health professionals and the wider communities of which they are a
part.
23.
The outcome indicators will provide an assessment of progress toward achieving
longer term outcomes for children. However, there are so many policy strands and external
factors that impact on outcomes for children that the outcome indicators cannot in
themselves enable evaluation of the impact of transformational change as set out in the EYF
on outcomes for children. Evaluation of specific local programmes and practice will help
provide a clearer picture of how the EYF is impacting on outcomes for children in the longer
term.
DEFINING OUTCOME INDICATORS
24.
Having defined the outcomes that the EYF is intended to facilitate and explored the
theory of change underpinning the outcomes through logic modelling, it was possible to
consider what would be the best indicators of progress toward early years outcomes.
25.
A focus in defining the indicators has been to develop indicators which provide more
than simply process information. In doing so, a suite of indicators has been produced which
aims to provide meaningful information which can be used to gauge progress towards the
wide-ranging outcomes identified.
26.
The indicator table details these indicators, the rationale for their inclusion, Getting
it right for every child theme covered, impact on outcomes and a brief commentary on data
availability and quality. This approach is consistent with that of the wider Data Review
(undertaken by CYPSC) and reflects data availability and quality relative to indicators at a
both a national and local level. Included in this are indicators where data and evidence are
not necessarily available and therefore denote where further analytical work is required to
improve understanding of progress towards Outcome 5.
27.
The indicators have been subject to input from policy colleagues across a broad
spectrum of policy areas to ensure that they are comprehensive and compatible with other
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work in more focussed areas, such as the afore-mentioned mental health indicators for
children and young people. In the long-term, this should reduce repetition in monitoring the
indicators; however, in the short-term, it may be necessary to consider data collection
systems at both local and national levels to ensure the sustainability of the indicators. The
wider Data Review will seek to ensure that appropriate data is collected relative to the
indicators.
THE EARLY YEARS INDICATOR SUITE
28.
The indicators reflect what are considered to be the key issues relative to the early
years in Scotland. They represent all areas of the Getting it right for every child Well Being
indicators (Safe, Healthy, Active, Nurtured, Achieving, Responsible, Respected and Included),
with some areas naturally being reflected more given the 0-8 stage. Indicators around child
health, safety and nurture for example, are prominent. An underpinning theme across the
indicators is the impact of deprivation/child poverty/inequality on outcomes.
29.
The indicators should act as a comprehensive but by no means complete framework
through which progress towards Outcome 5 can be measured. As a suite, the indicators
should provide a good overview of development across a broad range of issues. In isolation,
the indicators can be used in tandem with more focussed and micro level data to shed light
on progress in specific policy areas.
USING THE EARLY YEARS INDICATORS
30.
At a national level, the indicators can be used by Government as a tool for
measuring progress towards Outcome 5. They can also be used by policy and analytical
colleagues to inform where data and evidence is lacking and where further analysis is
needed in a particular area. This function should play a key role in influencing analytical
activity and also ensure efficiency in developing future work programmes.
31.
At a local level, the indicators can be used as a resource to help inform local
authorities as to how progress towards SOAs can be presented, though the indicators are
not prescriptive nor comprehensive.
32.
Data availability, both at a national and local level, will be key to providing the
information which demonstrates progress. Data availability at the national level is not
always replicated at the local, and vice versa. Therefore, it will be important to consider the
suitability of purpose of indicators at different levels dependant on whether or not data is
collected.
FORWARD LOOK
33.
The indicators and outcomes that they measure currently will provide a useful
framework to focus the work of the EYF Research into Practice Group.
34.
It is important to remember that these indicators are not fixed and will require
monitoring and review over time. New evidence and data sources may impact upon the
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suitability of indicators and it will be necessary to consider how fit for purpose the indicators
are.
35.
The wider Data Review work and indicators that it will produce may also necessitate
the need for review of the EYF indicators and their subsequent refinement.
36.
A number of CPPs are developing assessment tools around various child progress
measures while others are piloting parenting programmes. There is therefore a need for
local evaluation and sharing of practice/experience in these sorts of activities at a local level
as this will help inform understanding of progress towards outcomes. Evaluation will be
important in demonstrating how programmes are meeting EYF outcomes relative to the
indicators and therefore should be a key consideration in the design and implementation of
early years initiatives.
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ANNEX A
Membership
Rod Harrison (Chair)
Jim Chalmers
Kate Cherry
Susan Duncan/ David Milne
Ingrid Gilray
Nuala Gormley
Sara Grainger
Gillian Henderson
Marion MacLeod
Robert McGeachy/Anne Darlington
Andrew McGuire
Rory Mitchell
Robert Nicol/Ian Storrie
Judith Tait
Carolyn Wilson
Jonathan Wright
Head, CYPSC Analytical Services, Scottish
Government
Principal Researcher, CYPSC, Analytical
Services
ISD
HMIE
Public Services Reform Division, SG
Care Commission
ASU, DG Health
Office of the Chief Statistician, SG
SCRA
Children in Scotland
Action for Children
Improvement Service
NHS Health Scotland
COSLA
SWIA
Child and Maternal Health, DG Health
ASU, DG Health
Anncris Roberts
Early Years Team, DG Education
Sarah Campbell
Supporting team ASU
Anne Marie Dorrian
Susan Robinson
Paul Sloan
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